Victoria Beckham’s diminishing frame reportedly drew gasps when she arrived in America to begin her stint as a guest judge on the reality TV contest American Idol.

Monica Grenfell, Posh Spice’s nutritionist, has reportedly revealed that on a recent 11-hour flight, she refused to eat.

“She’s very Audrey Hepburn looking, slim and neat. She’s strict with herself,” Grenfell said. “When she goes on business lunches she’ll choose white fish and she’ll often pick at things rather than have big sit down meals.”

But is Posh taking her diet too far? The 35-year-old’s tiny size has sparked health concerns across America when she greeted fans outside the Idols studios. Is she too thin?

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International chef Jamie Oliver, and American Idol host Ryan Seacrest are teaming up to do a reality show that will make over the eating habits of America’s fattest cities.  As of yet there is no title for the series and ABC has ordered only six episodes.  In the series, Jamie Oliver will travel to the unhealthiest cities in the USA and work with members of the community to educate them on using local resources to improve their diets.

In the past, Jamie Oliver has done a lot to spread the word about healthy eating, and not just on his cooking show.  In 2005 he did a four part documentary  called Jamie’s School Dinners where he worked with school and government officials in the UK to improve the quality of public school lunches.  Then, in 2008 he produced the series Jamie’s Ministry of Food, where he went to South Yorkshire and taught locals how to cook healthy meals.

This new show will be produced by Ryan Seacrest as he has a personal interest in the subject matter since he has described himself as a chubby child when younger.  In one of Seacrest’s KISS-FM morning shows he said,

“I’m a firm believer that the fuel we put into our body results in a healthy lifestyle. Jamie’s going to come over here, roll up his sleeves and use the resources of each town to help condition living habits to make it a better and healthier place.”

Below is the list of America’s fattest cities according to Men’s Fitness Magazine:

1. Miami FL

2. Oklahoma City OK

3. San Antonio TX

4. Las Vegas NV

5. New York NY

6. Houston TX

7. El Paso TX

8. Jacksonville FL

9. Charlotte NC

10. Louisville-Jefferson KY

From the looks of that list surely Jamie and Ryan will be heading to Texas and Florida!

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American Idol Judge and 1980s pop star Paula Abdul is now an official endorser for the eco-friendly fitness products line, G2.  In the photo above she is holding the company’s new self-guiding stretch mat ( G2 Golf Stretch Mat (Women’s Yellow): Eco Friendly, Patented Thick Cushion, Washable Non-slip, Bacteria Resistant – World’s Only Self Guided Stretch Mat ) which is illustrated with stretch positions and key exercises for maintaining an injury-free body.  Paula said,

“Great health and fitness are essential to my happiness.”

Paula uses the back mat, the yoga mat and other products all to help with her chronic back pain and to have the ability to continue on with what she loves, cheerleading and dancing.

“I strengthen and increase the flexibility of key muscles, reducing my pain and tension and allowing me to continue performing the activities I enjoy most like dancing and cheerleading.”

G2 sells all kinds of equipment for both the home and commercial use.  The self-guiding stretch mat is $45 to $50 and includes access to instructional videos to learn how to do the stretches properly.

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American Idol winner Jordin Sparks oozes the same confidence as other winners such as Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson when it comes to body image.  She did tell Ok! Magazine that she does some hiking and bike riding when at home, and she strives to eat healthily, but when it comes to the pressures of being ultra-thin in Hollywood she isn’t so concerned about it.

“I’m all up for working out and being healthy and eating right, but I don’t have to be a size four and I’ll never be a size four,” the Arizona native says. “If I ever get to that, you have permission to say ‘Jordin, what the heck is wrong with you?’ because I would blow over.”

Jordin also admitted that she’s very happy with the body she has.

“I love the way I look. I love my curves, I love being able to fill out a dress and be like ‘Yeah, I look really good today.’ But I do have my days where I feel like ‘I really wish I could stay inside right now.’”

When asked if she has ever done a crash diet, Jennifer explains that she was raised by a family that taught healthy eating habits and isn’t keen on quick fix diets.

“My mom raised me pretty good, and was always like ‘eat in moderation’ and everything is really good. My dad, I mean, he played football, so we’ve always been a really active family, but I’ve never done a crazy crash diet thing. Those are always really scary, bad for you, bad for your health.”

Kara DioGuardi, a song writer and latest American Idol judge recently opened up about her past and said that when she was younger she had an eating disorder.  She told Extra,

“I had kind of a binge eating disorder where instead of dealing with my emotions, I would stuff them down with food.  I actually went into a treatment center for it.”

The 38-year-old songstress said she never induced vomiting nor starved herself but there was an emotional connection to her excessive eating.  She explained,

“It was definitely that excess eating to kind of just stuff all the emotions down … I really was a creative kid who didn’t know she was creative and didn’t have those outlets because I was always afraid to join the theater group and not perform.” She continues, “The moment I started doing music, the moment I did what I loved to do in my life and committed to it, I don’t have those problems anymore … I have my outlet.  I have that form of expression. I can go to the studio and talk about my feelings.”

In hopes of helping others with addictions, Ms. DioGuardi has built a recording studio in a Los Angeles treatment center, Phoenix House.  Music is a therapeutic technique to help addicts recover.  She said she still has moments where she feels she has to be perfect but she has continued to control her former binge-eating habits.

“But I made this commitment in my life to face my fears,” says DioGuardi, “and if I am afraid of something I make sure I do it.”

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Carrie Underwood, former American Idol winner and now Grammy Award Winner opens up to Ok Magazine as to how she keeps fit.  Carrie, the vegetarian, talked about her motivations for weight loss.  She said,

“I don’t really have time to eat junk food.  I do so good when I have a goal,” Carrie says. “I’m like ‘I’ve gotta look good because I’ve gotta wear this, that and the other,’ so I’m really good but I’m so off-the-wagon right now.”

She also talked about her workouts.  She explained,

“My legs have always been really muscular.  Actually, if I work them out a lot, they can get, like, really big, so I do lots of squats and running. I work out four to six days a week. Even if I don’t do a lot, I just do cardio. It makes me feel better.”

Lastly, Carrie responded to a question about the pressures to be thin as an international celebrity.  She stated,

“I don’t think — for me, at least — there’s a pressure to be thin. I think there’s a pressure to be healthy because I go on the road. Last year, we did 148 live shows. We did so many concert dates. We were out on the road for months at a time, so for me it was a pressure to be healthy for myself, because if I wasn’t, then I’d get sick or I’d have a lot of problems when I was on the road.”

The loveable Kimberly Caldwel, former American Idol contestant and also ex-girlfriend of American Idol winner David Cook, has dropped 20 pounds. When she was a contestant on the show she was definitely on the chubby side and confessed her love of fast food.  But these days, all of that has changed. During Kimberly’s interview with Life and Style Magazine, she opened up as to why she decided to lose the weight.

“I’ve always been confident and secure…Now it’s a different kind of secure.  Okay, I’m a home owner, I take care of my little sister who lives with me, I have five jobs, and I’m sitting around being lazy on my time off. Why?”

Kimberly enlisted the help of Carly Marino, the NBC wellness trainer that whipped her into shape and continues to help her maintain her current weight.  Apart from exercise, she also made some lifestyle changes too.  She said,

“I learned to have a full glass of water before I sit down to a meal and to eat the veggies before I eat everything else.”

Three cheers for Kimberly!

Kelly Clarkson’s fourth album All I Ever Wanted has just been released so we’ve seen a lot of her in the media promoting her album, being in the spotlight and essentially doing what rock stars do.  She did however open up to Ok! Magazine on how the media can often twist reality when it comes to weight.  When asked how she stays in shape and always looks fresh, she replied,

“I am just being me,” she laughs, “I run when I feel like I need to run and de-stress.”

Since she doesn’t practice a regular workout routine she was asked how she lost the recent weight and she said,

“Oh, I haven’t. I’m always the same size. People just get pictures of me in black and I look thinner, and people get pictures of me in white and I look bigger.”

Kelly’s good nature and positive energy is always evident when interviewed.  She stated,

“I have a really, really great support system, so I’ve always been like that. But I mean, obviously, I’m humble as well, because there’s a lot of things about which I have no clue.”

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During season 5 of American Idol, the Grammy-nominated Christian singer, Mandisa, was the brunt of all of Simon Cowell’s jokes.  Unfortunately, Mandisa was used to this because she grew up as a fat child.  She told People Magazine that she was sexually molested as a child and when she was 16 years old she was raped.

“A lot of girls turn to men to fill that void and some turn to drugs,” Mandisa, 32, tells People. “I turned to food as my drug of choice.”

Later, she even admitted that she was denied health insurance because of her obesity.  However, last summer everything changed while she was visiting Mt. Rushmore and she could not make it to the viewpoint because she was too out of breath.  She vowed to lose 100 pounds by the March 24 release date of her new Christian album.

Mandisa’s regimen includes a cardio workout five days a week and she eats plenty of salads, lean meats and fiber.  In addition, she’s getting some counseling to address the deep-seeded issues from her childhood.  After having dropped 75 pounds she told People Magazine,

“Being able to fit into clothes I couldn’t before is great,” she says. “To be able to walk into a room and not feel self-conscious, I don’t ever remember feeling this way.  I want to be healthy, and I believe my body will get to whatever it’s supposed to be,” she says. “It could be a size 8 – but personally I like a girl with a little meat on her bones! I don’t need to look like the models on the magazine covers in order to be beautiful.”

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Kimberley Locke, of American Idol and Celebrity Fit Club fame, is reportedly going to be the new pitch woman for Jenny Craig, joining fellow celebs Kristie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli. She has apparently already lost 30 lbs on the diet plan and plans on losing another 10 before formally announcing her gig with Jenny Craig.

Seems that Jenny Craig is taking a different marketing approach with Kimberley than with its other celebrity endorsers. Their marketing strategy in the past has been to hire the celeb first and have them lose the weight on the diet. Why the change? Perhaps it’s an insurance policy for Jenny Craig? If she loses the weight great. If she doesn’t, Jenny can opt out and the story gets buried.